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Finley MacClellan
“The Padishah is the most powerful man in the world. His supremacy is based on winning wars, yet all the people want is peace. Whether he is adept at this... well, that is quite another matter.” -Finley MacClellan History Born in Al Basazar, the son of Guildmaster Finbarr MacClellan, Finley was an wayward and adventurous youth. Though his father made sure that he was schooled in the family business - leatherwork - young Finley spent every spare moment he had amongst the sky ship docks, learning from merchantmen and sky pirates alike. He accompanied both sorts on voyages, learning practical experience. When the Aglazdere Civil War came, Finley was part of a raid that captured a heavy hull from the imperial sky fleet. Christened Lord Highdark's Revenge, the ship was bestowed upon Finley, who piloted it during the Great Sky Ship Battle with great daring and skill. After the war, Finley would have been happy to become a sky pirate, but his father had other plans for him. Finnbarr MacClellan dreamed that his son might one day become Grand Guildmaster, or even Padishah, and so sent him to Padishah Rick, with a request that his son be given a government post. Rick obliged, and saddled Finley with the title of Chancellor, responsible for affixing the Padishah's seal to official documents. Ambitious and talented, Finley expanded his duties to include other forms of bureaucracy and record-keeping. He further used his position to read many classified documents, becoming well-versed in the politics that went into ruling Aglazdere. He worked hard to fill the power vacuum left by Padishah Rick and Grand Vizier Annakiya, both of whom were disinterred in the active components of rule. In this capacity, he butted heads with the Interior Minister, Mathias Peynirci, an old civil servant who disliked Finley's naked ambition and forceful personality. That position would subsist, with Rick and Annakiya being happy to play their advisers against one another, until the War of the Philosopher-Kings. Personality Ambitious, talented, and driven. If he could have had his way, Finley MacClellan would have taken to sky piracy, but fate and his father's wishes turned him towards business and governance. Something of an autodidact, Finley struck observers as someone who would shine no matter what way of life was thrust upon him. He was a skilled soldier and pilot, having proven his mettle in the Aglazdere Civil War, but upon entering government, he demonstrated that he could be a shrewd bureaucratic player and hard-nosed politician. Finley set his heights heigh, originally dreaming of becoming Grand Guildmaster of Al Basazar, but began to dream of succeeding Rick as Padishah of Aglazdere. His cohorts in government, and the nobility at large in Varas were impressed by and somewhat wary of him, getting the impression that at the bottom line, he had only his own interests at heart. War of the Philosopher-Kings Finley MacClellan was one of the figures of government who were in the know regarding war planning. An advocate for the use of force, Finley advised Grand Vizier Annakiya to try and assassinate King Raine of Atlantis, and eventually to go to war with the Final Empire itself. He would accompany the Padishah against the dragonflight of Aurum, piloting the Lord Highdark's Revenge. After the Sack of Al Mandera, Rick would order him to stay behind and keep order in the capital. Finley would reluctantly obey, dispatching Lord Highdark's Revenge under the command of its first mate, knowing in his heart that he would never see his ship again. Upon hearing of Padishah Rick's death, Finley would be part of a meeting in Varas to determine the fate of Aglazdere. Finley would strike a bargain with his old rival, Mathias Peynirci, offering him the Grand Viziership in return for his support for the throne. Finley MacClellan was proclaimed Padishah of Aglazdere the next day. He would be unsuccessful in his attempt to take the Philosopher's Stone for himself, for Annakiya would depart in the wastes, refusing to acclaim him as the nation's rightful prince. The ruler of a shattered nation, Padishah Finley would find himself consumed by power struggles with his Grand Vizier, frustrating attempts to project his power beyond Varas, and long hours in the laboratory spent trying to find a way to restore the sky fleet. The crown was his at last, but in the eyes of the world, Aglazdere was finished. After the War Sometime shortly after the war, Finley MacClellan would be informed by Gin, the leader of the Black Rose, that they had given sanctuary to Empress Jang of Arendur. Though the Padishah would grow intrigued by the possibility of using her the lost princess as a pawn - either as a bargaining chip or a political marriage - Gin would make it clear in no uncertain terms that this was out of the question. When Kuldeep of Shangare set out to conquer what remained of Aglazdere, Finley stood firm against him. When when it became clear that he would lose, and the leaders of Abu Hasan and Tel Kibair had surrendered, Finley maintained his opposition to the Demon King. For a fleeting time, Finley MacClellan became something like the true Padishah of Aglazdere, standing proud and defiant against impossible odds. He would be taken alive and tortured into revealing what he knew about his kingdom. In great agony, Finley would reveal many of Aglazdere's secrets, such as the Laboratory of Varas and the Philosopher's Stone. Curiously, however, he would never reveal the fact that Varas harbored the Empress of Arendur - this knowledge he would take to his grave. Category:Monarchs Category:Aglazdere Category:Gnomes Category:Artificers Category:Mages Category:Project Revival Category:Padishah of Aglazdere